Fall Red Deer food drive sets new record

Red Deer residents stepped up to supply more than 7,000 kilograms of food in the food drive this past weekend for the Red Deer Food Bank. Photo contributed

Red Deer residents stepped up to supply more than 7,000 kilograms of food in the food drive this past weekend – a new record haul at a time when the Red Deer Food Bank needs it most.

A food drive organized by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this past weekend in North Red Deer set a new record for the amount of food gathered. Last year’s fall food drive in north Red Deer brought in 4,858 kilograms of food, but this year the food drive delivered 7,060 kilograms (15,532 lbs) of food to the Red Deer Food Bank.

A donation of 1,180 kg of food by staff and owners of Bulldog Metals was partly responsible for the increased success of the drive.

“At our Wednesday morning safety meeting, I told my staff that whatever they brought in, I would match it times three,” said Bob Bevins, owner of Bulldog Metals. “I was surprised when they managed to bring in 500 pounds of food in two-and-a-half days! I had to go out and do a lot of shopping to match their donation. In the end we had 2,600 pounds of food.”

Bevins thought up the idea of challenging his staff and brought it up at the Wednesday meeting. “I was very surprised with what we accomplished,” he said. “It just goes to show what can happen when you give people an opportunity to help. We’re a small business. Can you imagine what would happen if other businesses did something similar to support the next food drive?”

Times are tough in Alberta and many families need help to make ends meet. The shelves at Red Deer Food Bank are looking much better since this latest food drive. “We’re really grateful to all the people who donated to the drive and all the people who helped with it,” said Allison Strate, Red Deer stake food drive coordinator for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “Red Deer residents donated more food than ever before and the donation by Bulldog Metals was just amazing. We organize the drives twice per year at times when the Red Deer Food Bank really needs the help and Red Deer residents always step up to help out.”

Church members in Innisfail and Edmonton also ran food drives on Sept. 28. The food drive in the Town of Innisfail supplied 1,612 kilograms of food to the Innisfail Food Bank. The next food drive will be in April 2020 on the south side of Red Deer.

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Red Deer residents stepped up to supply more than 7,000 kilograms of food in the food drive this past weekend for the Red Deer Food Bank. Photo contributed